Island Miles

ParkRun is a free 5K race that happens every Saturday at 9am, all over the world. You sign up once, and you’re ParkRun ready. It’s that simple! Vancouver Island recently got a new addition to our collection, with Beban Park in Nanaimo joining races in the Comox Valley, Shawnigan Lake and Victoria! On this episode the boys chat with Race Director Charlotte Taylor and volunteer Nikki Scott, who share their experience building and launching a ParkRun, and the great community of people it has pulled together. Find the race here: https://www.parkrun.ca/beban/.Other links:Chris Sundby in support of Jacob’s Well: https://www.jacobswell.ca/chrisruns2Jason Kirsch’s Mindfulness Miles: https://eurekasupportsociety.ca/mindfulness-miles/The Rundown - upcoming races and events: July 29 – Sunset Run x Dream Mile – PISE in Victoria - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/138385/sunset-run-x-dream-mileAug 4 – Nautical Days 4 Miler – Comox Valley - https://cvrr.ca/events/nautical-days-4-miler-2025/Aug 15 – Island Trail Series - Cobble Hill 12/27K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/cobble-hill-cobble-hill-mt/ The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email

James Kwinecki lost his vision 10 years ago, which meant basically re-learning many of life’s realities. For some, that might have been reason enough to stop reaching, but not for James, who has played blind baseball, rowed with the National team, and eventually, became a passionate runner. He has now run five marathons, including smashing Boston in 3:11. But he hasn’t done it alone, and on this episode James and his guide Mo Mannoe talk about their shared running journey and friendship. The Rundown - upcoming races and events:  July 11 - Devil’s Ladder - Cumberland – room left in the 30K! https://devilsladderultra.com/July 28 - Buckin’ Hell - 35K/50K and 50K relay - North Vancouver - https://trailrunning.ca/race/buckin-hell/Aug 15 – Island Trail Series - Cobble Hill 12/27K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/cobble-hill-cobble-hill-mt/Sept 20 - Monster Marmot 5K/10K trail race at Mount Washington - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/138146/the-monster-marmot The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

Imagine having the strength, mental toughness and sheer will to run 250 miles in the Arizona desert, with 12,000m of elevation gain over hot, dusty terrain. That’s what the Cocodona 250 from Phoenix to Flagstaff requires, and this past May, Nanaimo’s Christine Almond crossed the finish line after almost 92 hours, with the support of only her husband and dog. No pacers! Christine joined the show to talk about preparing for this insane event, taking “trail naps” when exhaustion hit, and how it felt to toe the start line with ultra legends, including new course record holder Rachel Entrekin. The Rundown - upcoming races and events:  Frontrunners Local Legends 5 segment challenge: https://bit.ly/FRLocalLegendsJuly 5 - Island Trail Series - Ladysmith 10/20K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/ladysmith-transferbeach/July 11 - Devil’s Ladder - Cumberland (still room in the 30K!) - https://devilsladderultra.com/ Chris Sundby’s Island Run 2.0 – jacobswell.ca/chrisruns  The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

If you’re thinking about taking on the trails for the first time, or even if you’re a seasoned vet, it’s always good to get a refresher on preparing for time in the trails and making sure you’re taking care of your own safety. Natalia Filip is an experienced trail runner that loves spending endless hours in Strathcona Park. But she’s also a volunteer with Nanaimo Search and Rescue and joined the show to give us some really valuable information on preparedness.The Rundown - upcoming races and events:  May 30 - Snowden Trail Race - put on by Foveo Running – 11k and 26k in Campbell River - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/112890/snowden-trail-raceMay 30 - Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women – 5k and 10k at Elk Lake - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/106292/shoppers-drug-mart-run-for-women-victoria-2026May 31 - Hardy Hustle - 10K and Half Marathon in Port Hardy - https://porthardy.ca/community/recreation/hardyhustle/ The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

We decided to mic up for an easy-paced run in the West Shore and talk about what’s going on in the running world, both on Vancouver Island and beyond! We talk about the cooker of a day at the BMO Vancouver Marathon, a historic Cocodona 250 finish, a new Island ParkRun and lots of other cool stuff. Jamie even shared his most embarrassing running story, which involved passing out mid-stream… The May 50k Challenge for MS – friend of the pod Lyall Chalmers’ wife was recently diagnosed with MS, and even though she’s not a runner in the least bit, she’s running 50k in May to raise money and awareness for MS – here’s a link to her fundraising page – way to go Amanda!! https://mssp.donordrive.com/participants/Amanda-Chalmers/donate The Rundown - upcoming races and events:  May 17 - Jay’s Hillbilly Hustle - Nanaimo - 17k, 35k, and 50k - https://www.hillbillyhustle50.com/May 24 - Oak Bay Half Marathon and 10k – sold out but there’s a waitlist! https://oakbayhalf.com/May 30 - Sooke Hills 25k and 50k - sold out but would love volunteers! https://sookehillsrunning.com/May 30 - Snowden Trail Race - put on by Foveo Running – 11k and 26k - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/112890/snowden-trail-race The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

Yana Hempler is a Victoria runner with a lot of personal accomplishments, including completing her Abbott World Major Six Star in Tokyo this March. She’s also channeled some of her apparently endless energy into a number of fundraisers for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, raising a crazy amount of money. She’s got a big 24-hour event planned for Duncan in September, and we got the lowdown. Race Roster event link: https://raceroster.com/events/2026/112601/dream-nation-apparel-vancouver-island-24-hour (use the promo code  ISLANDMILES10 for a registration discount!)We also talk about the historic London Marathon result with two dudes going sub-2:00(!!), recap the TC10K, Boston and...Toledo? The Rundown - upcoming races and events: The Cumby - May 2 – https://thecumby.ca/Island Trail Series Lake Cowichan 13K/26K – May 9 - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/lake-cowichan/Fundraisers:The Victoria Mile – May 18 - supports Parkinsons Wellness Projects https://www.instagram.com/thevictoriamile/Power to Play Summit & Race – May 29-31 – supports Power to Be - https://www.powertobe.ca/powertoplay The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

There are SO many great trail races on Vancouver Island, and many of them are organized by the team at Coastline Endurance. Whether it’s the brutally tough Finlayson Arm races, extremely fun Island Trail Series, or the unique and challenging Kusam Klimb, they’ve got a great race roster, which they added to with the Hornby Island Ultra last month. The person at the helm of Coastline Endurance is Myke Labelle, and we got a chance to get to know him and what it takes to put on great races. Plus, he gave us a couple entries to Kusam to giveaway!The Rundown - upcoming races and events:  April 26 – TC10K – April 26 - https://www.runsport.ca/tc10kMay 2 – The Cumby 25K/16K/8.5K/4.5K distances https://thecumby.ca/ The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

Most people are in running retirement by the time they hit 70, but Joe ‘Crazy Legs’ Camilleri is still going strong at 76! Joe was a late bloomer with his running career, so was probably saving his legs for later life glory. Joe has completed a number of marathons with his first in Vancouver back in 2017 at the age of 67, when qualified for Boston, and he’s now closing in on completing the Abbot World Marathon Majors. We get to know Joe, which Canadian legend inspired him to start running, how he got his nickname, and hopefully get some tips for running longevity! The Rundown - upcoming races and events:  March 29 – McLean Mill 10K – Port Alberni - https://www.islandseries.org/product/mclean-mill-10k/April 12 – Saanich Physio Bazin Bay 5K – https://www.islandseries.org/product/saanich-physio-bazan-bay-5k/April 11 – Royal Roads 6K/11K – https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/victoria-royal-roads/ Canadian Cancer Society Run 80K in April Challenge: https://fundraisemyway.cancer.ca/events/680 The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast